One problem with Lincoln's 10% Plan was getting the Confederate
States to rejoin the United States.

A Confederate state was allowed to rejoin the United States if
10% of its voters took an oath
of allegiance to the United
States.

The 10% Plan and freed slaves

Another problem Lincoln's 10% Plan dealt with was what to do
with the freed slaves after the Civil War.

Under the 10% Plan, each southern state was allowed to make decisions
about the treatment of the newly freed slaves as long as the decisions
were agreed with the freed slaves condition as a laboring, landless,
homeless class.

Some people thought it best if the freed slaves left the United
States altogether.

13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment which banned slavery and involuntary servitude
was passed because northern congressmen wanted the freed slaves to
be treated decently.

Confederate states had to go along with the agreements of the10%
Plan or the state would be ruled by Union Army leaders and occupied
by Union soldiers.

Black codes

Black codes were rules and regulations that restricted the freedom
of former slaves.

Under the 13th Amendment freed slaves were able to travel around
as they pleased.

The restrictions placed
on freed slaves by black codes: Some states
a. banned freed slaves from leaving a job, or
b. from competing with whites for a good paying job.
c. did not allow former slaves to vote, or
d. own a gun, or
e. testify in a court of law against a white person.
f. jailed unemployed former slaves.

Congress' Approach to the Freed Slaves

The Freedmen's Bureau

Things the Freedmen's Bureau did for some former slaves:
a. gave land and tools
b. gave food and clothing
c. set up more than 100 hospitals
d. set up 4,300 schools

Most people who worked for the Freedmen's Bureau thought their job
was repairing the plantation
system.

Congressional ReconstructionReconstruction was considered a radical
plan because it included giving land and providing civil rights to freed
slaves.

Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed by the radical Republicans
: black codes were being passed in the south creating people's rights
problems for the former slaves.

Civil Rights Act of 1866:
a. Described the rights freed people would have.
b. All people born in the United States, excluding Native Americans,
were citizens of the United States.
c. As citizens, freed slaves were eligible
for full benefit of all laws.
d. Former slaves could make contracts.
e. The federal government was able to protect former slaves if they
were denied their rights.

14th Amendment

The radical Republicans turned the Civil Rights Act into the 14th
Amendment. They feared that the act might get changed in the future
by Congress or that the Supreme Court might decide the act to be unconstitutional.

The 14th Amendment:
a. citizenship to all people naturalized
or born in the US.
b. guaranteed equal protection under the law.
c. penalized states that did not permit former slaves to vote by not
counting freed slaves as part of the population of that state.
d. repayment by the federal government for the money borrowed to fight
the Civil War.
e. no Confederate war debt to be paid by either the federal states
governments.
f. banned those who held office under the Confederate government to
serve in the federal government.

The Reconstruction Act

The Republicans passed the Reconstruction Act in 1867 stating that
ex-Confederate states had to reapply for admission back into the U.S.

Tenure of Office Act

The Tenure of Office Act was passed by the radical Republicans.

Presidents needed Senate approval to remove government officials,
appointed by the President, from office.

Republicans really wanted Johnson impeached because he was against
southern reconstruction.

Johnson remained in office after the senate vote for his impeachment
was one short of the two-thirds majority needed; he had no more political
influence and did not run for reelection.

The Tenure of Office Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court a few years after the impeachment trial of Johnson.

The 15th Amendment

Republicans wanted the 15th Amendment passed to obtain
the vote of the freed slaves.

The 15th Amendment ensures the right to vote to all male citizens
of the United States, regardless of color or previous condition of
servitude.

African Americans become politicians

The 15th Amendment opened the door for the elections of African-Americans
to the US Congress and to Southern local and state offices. Segregation
means separating by color. New Southern governments began collecting
taxes for local public schools.

Summary of Congressional Reconstruction

Congressional Reconstruction created more rights for the freed slaves.

The economic problems of the freed slaves were not solved by Congressional
Reconstruction.

The South After
Congressional Reconstruction

The End of Congressional Reconstruction

The Ku Klux Klan

Two groups that opposed African-American citizenship: the Ku Klux
Klan and the Knights of the White Camellia.

These groups burned the homes, churches and schools of African-
Americans sometimes beating and killing them.

Two reasons that northern support of the former slaves decreased:
belief that African-Americans had an education system for their children
and a way to defend themselves by using political rights.

The Depression of 1873

The Depression of 1873 decreased support for the former slaves,
because the federal government had less money that meant less money
for federal troop protection in the South.

A confused election

Congressional Reconstruction ended in March, 1877 with the end of
federal troops in the South, by President Hayes.

Congressional Reconstruction: Not a Complete Failure

Requirements and trickery at the polls

The southern whites used requirements, trickery and violence to
prevent former slaves from voting:
a. residency requirement: have to live in one place for over a year.
b. literacy requirement: people
have to be able to read to vote.
c. poll taxes: fee for registering to vote.
d. demonstrate an understanding of the constitution of the state to
election officials, who often judged them unacceptable.
e. large numbers of ballot boxes.
f. terrorization by white
mobs.

Separate but equal

The Supreme Court said the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional
because the federal government did not have the right to deny privately
owned businesses the right to discriminate based on skin color.

Plessy vs. Ferguson: states could provide separate transportation
service for African-Americans if the service was equal to that of
whites.

African Americans Help Themselves

New towns

One way African-Americans tried to help themselves was moving away
from the cities and towns of the South with the hope of getting free
land and to escape violence.

Vocational schools

Vocational education is an education that is arranged to teach specific
job skills to an individual.

Colonel Armstrong thought vocational education was important for
the former slaves because basic reading, writing and arithmetic would
not help most of them find work.

Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington was one of the first pupils to attend Colonel
Armstrong's vocational school, receiving a teaching and then a principal
position after graduation.

Booker T. Washington felt that earning money was more important
to the freed slaves than voting (political action).